B & N Bookstore – Review

Our rating:

By: Barnes & Noble

Version #: 1.0.1

Date Released: 2009-07-11

Developer:

Price: 0.00

User Rating:

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Barnes & Noble was lagging behind Amazon in terms of getting their wares to the iPhone audience, but they’ve finally caught up.  Of the two, I’ve always preferred shopping Amazon because they usually have better deals plus free shipping over $25 and no tax.

But the B&N app is still a good shopping experience.  As of this writing, they even have a free coffee offer if you show a code from your iPhone screen to the café folk in one of the brick and mortar stores.

The app is naturally a scaled-down version of the website.  It’s simple, logical and easy to navigate.  It’s different than the Amazon.com iPhone app which currently offers more functionality but isn’t as intuitive.

The best feature is the use of the camera to locate a book, simply snap a photo of the cover and the app will find the book for you.  Very nice if you have a book in front of you already (a friends copy, library book, etc)

While the Barnes and Noble app lets you browse and buy, it doesn’t do much else.  There is the B&N Recommends, Review, and Studio sections, but nothing that feels personal.  The Amazon app still has such features as the Wish List and Gold Box deals.

In the end, any of these types of apps are simply scaled-down versions of the website.  Based on the app alone, I still prefer the experience given by Amazon.  However if you’re on the go and just remembered that book you wanted to order online and need to get it right away, the Barnes and Noble app makes it easy to do.  And if you stop in a store, don’t forget to pick up your free coffee.

Pros: Simple.  Intuitive.

Cons: Limited functionality.  Doesn’t seem to offer much beyond browsing and shopping.